The New York Conference
by Kernkraft Koenig
Summary: Chapter 3 of 5 ChiyoDad Makes a cameo as the girls experience the second night.
1. The First Night

Disclaimer: I still do not own Azumanga Daioh or any of the intellectual property therein.

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"Aieeeeeeee!" Chiyo shrieked.

"Oh my heart! Oh my heart!" Osaka uttered as she clung to her.

"That was awesome, Yukari baby!" Tomo's eyes glazed over with excitement.

" I'll protect you Miss Sakaki!" Kaorin was perched on the tall girl's lap in the frontpassenger seat, as five occupants had crammed into the back seat.

"You elbowed me in the face, baka!" Kagura snarled at Tomo.

"You got in the way so you're the baka!" She retorted. Yomi slumped against the window, too nauseous toreact toher friends' inanity.

A few minutes later, the battered vehicle bumped against the wall of a parking garage. The rumble of the engine ceased, the airbags activated, and sighs emanated from most of the students except for Kaorin, who squealed as the airbag pressed her against Sakaki. After the people stumbled out of the car, Yukari commented, "Americans suck at driving!"

Chiyo gained enough composure to speak. "Miss Yukari? In America, people usually drive on the right side of the street."

"Left, right, middle… It's all good. By American standards, I'm a kickass driver!" Yukari shrugged and stretched out her arms. "We're in New York City! Smell that American air." The language teacher grinned.

"It smells like MacDo and farts", Osaka sniffed.

"My butt hurts!" Tomo whined.

Rubbing the red spot on her forehead, Kagura glared, "you didn't have to take this car!"

"Are you serious? The alternative is much worse."

A titanic SUV parked beside the dented automobile. Mr. Kimura stepped out and distributed everyone's luggage. He looked at the girls and said, "There iss plenty of room for you all to fit in here! There's even an X-box module.. Hello?" Kimura suddenly noticed that he was the only one in the garage. Undaunted, he threw on his backpack and headed to the hotel.

Inside the palatial lobby, Osaka and Chiyo shuffled through a crowd toward the registration desk. The girl's eyes swept over the environs with awe. "Hey, Chiyo?"

"Yes, Miss Osaka?"

"This place is called the Hilton, right?"

"That's correct."

"Does that mean there's a Cruise? Or a Pitt? Or an Eminem?"

"I don't think it works that way." The two girls approached the counter. A clerk looked down at them with a cordial smile. "Good evening, how may I help you?"

As the counter nearly obscured her, Chiyo stood on her toes. "We have a reservation." She replied.

"Under what name."

"Chiyo Mihama and Ayumu Kasuga."

The attendant searched through some computer records. "I can't find an Ayumu in here, but your room is ready, Miss Mihama."

A bellhop carried the pair's luggage to the designated room. Upon arrival he began to explain the accommodations in detail. After this expatiation, he stated, "Ladies, I carried your bags."

Osaka gave him a quizzical expression, and then smiled. "Good job!" She moved to pat him on the head, but Chiyo intervened, whispering in her ear. Osaka searched her pockets then gave the man a quarter. "There ya go!" The bellhop vanished, disconcerted.

In the next room, Kaorin looked at the monolithic mattress in the center of the room and addressed Sakaki in a wavering voice. "Miss Sakaki! They accidentally put us in a room with one bed. What do we do?" Her blushing cheeks illuminated an anxiety-laden smile.

"Well, I guess we could share…"

"Boom! I call the middle half!" Tomo raced in and bounced repeatedly on the bed until she lost her equilibrium and caromed off the window. Kaorin growled with an unchanracteristic ferocity as Tomo sat up, disoriented on the balcony.

"Sounds like Tomo destroyed another hotel room. Is ten minutes a record for her?" Yomi contemplated as she passed in the hall, munching some ice from a standard-issue container. She opened her room and found her roommate talking excitedly on the phone. "And I want two pizzas, an ice cream sundae, and a side of spare ribs! Hey, Yomi, you want anything" Kagura looked up at the girl who had just entered the room.

"What?"

"Never mind… that's all." Kagura hung up the phone. "What are you doing with the ice container?"

"Eating ice is a proven weight loss strategy." Yomi said with an air of indignation. She continued, "Who were you addressing?"

"That's room service."

"Service for a room?"

"If you want anything at any time, you order it and pa-kow!"

At that point, a server wheeled in a cart piled with shrimp and lobster. Kagura began rapaciously popping the crustaceans into her mouth.

Yomi suddenly glowered, "Well, isn't that convenient!"

"What's her problem?" Yukari Tanizaki hissed in the adjoining room. She pounded against the adjacent wall with her fist and shouted, "Keep it down you bonkuras! People are trying to sleep in this building!"

"Please excuse her. Irony eludes my colleague." Mr. Kimura apologized to the beleaguered attendant and gave him a twenty dollar bill. Content to allow Yukari to scream all night with such a gratuity, he left the two teachers alone. Yukari proceeded to scoot the beds against the opposite walls.

"I'm right here." Kimura said with furrowed eyebrows.

"I've got my eye on you, sleazebag! We might have to share a room tonight, but don't you get tempted by my pert breasts and supple waist."

"I dare not to dream about it," Kimura adjusted his glasses and sat on his bed, reading an annotated volume of the works of Basho. Yukari sat on the other bed, engrossed in a video game she purchased at an airport. Twenty minutes later, Kimura turned around in response to an importunate tugging at his right arm.

"Come on, Nyamo, let's get hammered!" Yukari was wearing a strapless, diaphanous garment.

"Miss Tanizaki, my name is…"

"Idiotic PE teachers aren't admitted to prestigious symposia like this one. So tonight you're Nyamo! Now, off to the karaoke bar!"

"Are you not the apotheosis of insanity? I must lecture tomorrow!" Kimura's jaw gaped wider than usual.

Yukari winked, "You know, on Friday nights, the waitresses are dressed like schoolgirls."

Kimura virtually teleported to the door with his hat and coat on. "Why did not you say so? Let's party!" The two headed to the bar.


	2. Kimura and Yomi present

I still don't own Azumanga Daioh.

Chapter 2

The hotel clock read 4:45 when Chiyo woke up. She promptly washed and got dressed. When the small girl went to get her purse, she was surprised by her friend, who was lying in bed, smiling vacantly at a lightbulb. "What are you doing, Miss Osaka?"

She turned without altering her expression, "I woke up an hour before the day begins, so I tried sleeping with my eyes open. What do we do now?"

Chiyo looked at a schedule. "The keynote speaker begins at ten o clock, so we have about five hours."

Osaka pondered. "Maybe we could go sightseeing."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I want to go to Big Ben!"

"Big Ben is in England."

"Let's go here!" Osaka pointed at a spot on the map.

"That's a great idea. Let's get the others."

Chiyo went to the room with three of her classmates and knocked on the door. Tomo was the first to wake up. She became aware of a tickling sensation. A murmuring iterated in her ear as a pair of hands ran up and down her torso.

"Sakaki san…. Sakaki san…" Kaorin was evidently asleep, but drool exuded from a deliriously blissful smile. Tomo giggled when she realized what was happening, but her attention shifted to the door. She opened it and looked at Chiyo. "Hey, you little runt! What are you doing here?"

"Osaka and I are going to the Statue of Liberty. Would you like to come too?"

"Yeah, sure! We'll meet you at breakfast!" Tomo returned to her room, where she yelled at Kaorin and Sakaki. "Wake up! It's time to go shopping with Chiyo chan!"

"What?" Kaorin rubbed her eyes.

"Oh.. okay…" Sakaki complied.

"Hurry up! Everyone in the shower!" Tomo took her classmates by the arm and dragged them towards the bathroom.

"What are you doing!" Kaorin tugged against her.

"I have no time to wait for all of you! We have to shower now!"

"Sakaki san?"

Sakaki sighed stoically as she followed Tomo. "It would be rude to keep Chiyo waiting."

Outside Chiyo had continued to the next room. It was unlocked, so she entered. "What's happening here?" Yomi supported herself on her hands and toes while she repeatedly raised and lowered herself. Kagura was balanced above her, arms encompassing her upper body.

"Good morning, Chiyo" Yomi said between push ups.

"Why is Kagura on your back?" Chiyo observed.

"Because Yomi's too tall to fit on my back." Kagura responded.

"When you get done with this, there's something I'd like to do." Chiyo told the two about the plan and they agreed.

"Chiyo! This hotel is the pinnacle of civilization!" Osaka approached her from behind. "They have shampoo and conditioner in one bottle." She held up the bottle and put it in her pocket.

"Aagh!" Chiyo gasped. "Miss Osaka! You scared me."

"Is everyone going to see sights with us?"

"I'm about to ask Yukari and Kimura sensei, but everyone else said yes."

"Lookit that!" Osaka pointed at the doorknob. The Do not Disturb sign was hung around the doorknob.

"Um? Maybe Kimura sensei is practicing his lesson." Chiyo cogitated.

"Oh! Oh!" A familiar female voice uluated from within.

"I didn't know Miss Yukari liked Japanese literature lectures that much." Osaka scratched her head.

"This reminds me of that lesson that Miss Kurosawa gave us."

Osaka's brow furrowed. "You mean the one about sprained ankles?"

"No. Let's just leave them alone." Chiyo slipped a brief note under the door and hastened to the elevator.

"Porterhouse Steak! Porterhouse Steak! Oh How I love you! You're so great." Yukari sang and licked the room service plate. Meanwhile, she scribbled intermittently on Kimura's lecture notes. She took a bite and made another joyous sound.

Downstairs, the girls ate breakfast in the conference hall. Osaka looked around quizzically, "Whom should we pay for all this food?"

"We don't have to pay, because it's a continental breakfast."

"It's a good thing we're not on Long Island then," Osaka concluded.

"Hooray! Everything's free! Even the milk," Tomo picked up a pewter container next to a percolator and guzzled the contents until Chiyo stopped her.

"Don't drink that! People are supposed to put that milk in their coffee."

"Oh." Tomo responded and replaced the half full dairy canister.

"Don't put it back. That's unsanitary," Yomi chided.

"But what do I do?" Tomo said pensively, holding the vessel in her hand. Deciding that dropping it on the floor was a suitable course of action, she joined her cohorts at the table. She examined her fork, "Americans sure know how to eat!" Tomo picked up the utensil and gorged herself with oatmeal. Beside her, Osaka looked less enthusiastic without chopsticks to split.

She took a bite of ham, then recoiled in pain. "I bit my tongue." She stated as her fork clattered to the floor. She resumed eating with her hands.

"I don't think people eat that way in America." Chiyo said.

Osaka shrugged. "If their eating customs are crude enough to involve portable spears, I don't think eating with our hands would faze them." She licked a mote of jelly covered ham off her face.

After the breakfast, the girls took a subway to the Statue of Liberty and were soon standing on the monument's insular base.

"This is like Ame-mura!" Osaka said, looking at the titanic structure. "New York is the Big Apple, right?"

"Yeah." Kagura replied.

"Is this the Big IPod?"

"Hey Sakaki, Race you up the stairs!" Kagura bolted towards the statue. Sakaki did not respond, but Tomo sprinted to her side.

"I can get to the top before you."

"It's on!" the two darted toward the entrance.

"It's not safe to run around national monuments!" Yomi and Chiyo floundered after them. Sakaki watched in dismay next to Osaka, who stood perfectly still, enthralled by the view of the blue copper torch. After the girls were escorted off the island, they went back to the hotel. Passing by the teachers' room, they noticed that the Do Not Disturb sign was removed, but strange noises were coming from Kimura this time.

"Waa!" The teacher sat up as cold water streamed into his mouth..

"Wake up! I need to take a bath. What kind of loser sleeps in a bathtub anyway?" Yukari turned off the shower.

"One who cannot sleep by your snoring." The lanky man stood up and stretched in a serpentine manner. "What time is it?"

Yukari checked her watch. "About ten."

"What!"

Yukari clarified with a noncommittal gesture, "Relax, dude. I mean ten AM. We have plenty of time."

Kimura was far from mollified. "I must be there in ten minute! What about the alarm clock," At this Yukari remembered and shrugged.

"I unplugged it so I use my curling iron."

"I must prepare!" He ripped off his wet boxers and frenetically began showering.

"Eww!" Yukari said before exiting.

Five minutes before the deadline, both teachers were cleaned, dressed and running down the hallway to the elevator. On the ground floor, Yukari yelled to Kimura. "Come on!" She grabbed his tie and started shoving the other attendants aside. The hapless philologist raced to avoid strangulation while Yukari shouted, "Move! Move! We are important-ass scientists!" At the stage, an academic behind the lectern was addressing the council with a look of solicitude. When he saw the two Japanese guests arrive backstage, he sighed with relief. "Without further ado, we present Kimura Hiro." The Asian man bowed to them and departed. Kimura began to walk on the stage but hesitated as he saw his notes. He suddenly turned on his colleague. "What did you do to my speech?"

"I edited it! Get out there!" Yukari whispered. With a foot to his back, Yukari shoved Kimura into the spotlight. A set of soulless cameras and a vast, faceless crowd glared at him as he approached the microphone; however, he saw his students in the crowd and took heart. The pale man adjusted his tie and looked at the doctored notes. To his dismay, many of the original words were obscured by ink. He ventured forth. "Good… Morning! The role of the folklorist is often obscured in language education, but this capacity is laden with sociocultural significance" He stood for almost a minute with his typical vacant stare while he read the next lines. After that hiatus, the lecture seemed to flow much more smoothly.

In the seats, Tomo whispered to everyone, "What's up with Kimura? He's acting weirder than ever."

"Perhaps he's shy," Sakaki volunteered.

"Or hung over. Did you see him carrying Yukari last night? They must have had a really good time!"

"He wouldn't do that!" Kaorin interjected. "We had to make this speech almost ten times while he was perfecting it. He's really dedicated to this project." After the speech reached its conclusion, the crowd burst into a standing ovation. "Mr. Kimura…" Kaorin uttered, looking at him with admiration in her eyes. Such an impression was ephemeral before the teacher's closing comment, "This paper is dedicated to my beloved students, specifically the great and beautiful Kaorin!"

"Aaaah!" The spotlight decisively crept toward her. Kaorin shrieked and ran out of the hall.

At the end of the day, Yomi took the stage and prepared to speak. She was clothed completely in black and trembled as the stared at the cameras, until something from the stands caused her to smile ironically.

"Go Yomi-chan!" Tomo's scream thundered across the auditorium.

"Win that prize!" Osaka followed.

"Those other competitors are losers!" Kagura proclaimed vehemently.

"Fight, Yomi, for everlasting peace!" Yukari punctuated.

A brief uproar reverberated through the crowd at Yomi's entourage. Kimura sidestepped his co-worker to get a clear shot of the bonkuras.

"What are you doing?" Yomi broke out into a sweat as she realized that her associates were standing and waving their arms around. Each of the bonkuras was standing on her seat with her shirt partially raised. On each abdomen, one of the letters of Yomi's name was painted in ostentatious bold red font.

"We're your cheerleaders, and were rooting for you American style, because we want you to do your best!" Kagura put her arms around Osaka's and Tomo's shoulders.

"Are you insane?"

"They have a point. If you screw up, it will reflect poorly on me too! If you win a prize, I'll buy you a steak!" Yukari joined in the shoutfest that was transpiring across the room.

Yomi blushed and cleared her throat. "As I was saying, my name is Mizuhara Koyomi and my research group-"

"That's us!" Tomo shouted

"has compiled a table of idiomatic spatiotemporal expressions used across the United States. Following the research of Labov and Techner…" Koyomi's lecture unfolded. At the conclusion, an awkward silence gave way to a peal of applause. Only those from Yomi's school stood though. It was in the middle of the afternoon when the presenters from the prestigious Tokyo high school stepped into the chilly golden sunlight.

"What are we going to do now?" Chiyo asked.

"I'm hungry." Kagura said.

"Where should we eat?"

"I saw a place called the Cheesecake Factory. It's a block from the hotel." Sakaki looked up from an issue of Cat Fancy that she had purchased at the airport.

"Cheesecake is not a healthy meal." Yomi commented.

"They have other food too."

"Ok then."

As the girls headed to the restaurant, Yukari nudged Kimura. "Come on! We're going to the casino!"

"Actually, I wanted to watch the girls to consume cheesecake."

"But the casino has a wet bar, and dancers, and a Hokkaido-style buffet."

"This morning, you fell asleep in a bar. Are you not tired of vomiting?" Kimura's jaw swayed slightly in the wind.

"I've only begun to party!" Yukari laughed and bolted.

The teacher looked at the students he was chaperoning, and then he took a look at the shrinking form of Yukari.

"If you need anything, call me on my cell phone. All right? Huh?" Kimura realized that the flock of girls had entered the restaurant without him. "Chiyo and Kaorin are with them. They should be fine." He commented to himself and turned around.

Fifteen minutes later, the man stepped into the casino. Yukari was already mildly tipsy and shouting at a slot machine. Upon noticing the teacher, the young woman flashed an asymmetrical, roseate smile.

"Hiro-kun! You came after all."


	3. Second Night

Notes: Thank you for the constructive criticism. With my writing style, I was trying to emulate the flow of the anime episodes.

Osaka: The author of this fanfic owns Azumanga Daioh…. No he doesn't. I lied.

Chapter 3

Inside the restaurant, the seven high school girls ordered their food. The waitress then asked how many checks to write. Chiyo answered, "Just one!"

After the waitress left with their orders, Sakaki looked at Chiyo. "Did you just agree to pay our bills?" Chiyo nodded with a smile. "Thank you," Sakaki muttered.

"Don't worry. My father agreed to pay for our accommodations!"

"Your father?"

"Yes, my dad loves New York, and he visits often on business."

Sakaki looked downward until a deep voice caught her attention. "Here's your order. Be careful. These plates are hot… and red." Sakaki glanced up at a hovering yellow feline.

The cat spun around, suddenly wearing a business suit. It tap-danced with its stubby legs and began to sing amidst a spontaneous burst of background music. "Start spreading the news. I'm leaving today. I want to be a part of it…"

"Sakaki-san?"

Sakaki looked up, startled. Chiyo was nudging her slightly.

"The food has arrived!"

The waitress served the plattera, and the girls stuffed their faces with American food. Yomi poked at her cheesecake sullenly. Tomo smirked and shouted, "Hey, are you afraid of getting fat like the other Americans in this room, Yomi-yama?" Tomo poked her friend in the stomach. Some of the diners gave looks of reproach, but the girl ignored them and ate.

"Seriously, are you hungry?" Kagura was interested in Yomi's cake this time. She sighed and pushed the dish over to the girl with the astounding metabolism..

"How is it?" Chiyo asked Kaorin, who focused her eyes forward while eating a moist tiramisu.

"So sweet and magnificent! Being here is like a dream!" Her eyes glazed over in ecstasy.

"You seem to really enjoythis food." Sakaki suddenly looked up into her eyes.

"Yes, Sakaki-san. The dessert are nice," she stammered, suddenly subdued.

Osaka yawned and looked to the girl on her left. "Hey Chiyo chan, are you ready for tomorrow?"

Chiyo nodded emphatically, pigtails bobbing, "I have been working on this project for months but…" her face paled. "I never thought the conference would be so big, and if I fail I'll disappoint the whole school." By this time the small girl was quivering.

"No bother, Chiyo-Chan. We're still your friends."

"But my whole family is watching this. They'll be upset if I don't perform perfectly."

"Even Mr. Tadakichi?" Osaka smiled vacuously, "I know! I can be your beta-tester!"

"My beta tester?"

"You read me your paper, and I'll time you."

"That's a good idea, Miss Osaka,. My essay is at the hotel." The two girls went to the base and rehearsed for the upcoming presentation.

"How was it?" Chiyo asked.

"That was good, but I have one question."

"What is it, Miss Osaka?"

"Who's Gava?"

"What do you mean?"

"You talked about the Gava guy. Does he hand out red, big balloons?"

"The word is gavagai." Chiyo explained.

Meanwhile, Kagura, Yomi, and Sakaki stepped out the doors of a toy store. Yomi held a small bag containing a Barbie doll. Kagura cradled a Playstation 3 close to her chest, and Sakaki carried a large opaque package. The three girls passed a theater, unaware that Tomo and Kaori waited for a movie within. Tomo bounced in her seat during the lull before the picture. Kaori ignored her for a while until she finally sighed. "Tomo, can I ask you something?"

"You know me, I be keepin it real!" She feebly emulated a rapper she had seen on American television.

"Do I annoy Sakaki-san? Does she ever talk about me when I'm not around?"

Tomo pondered momentarily. "I'm surprised she knows you exist!" Kaorin looked devastated, but Tomo ensued. "Look at me for example. Everyone knows who I am, because I'm Takino Tomo, super wild energy girl! That's spelled T-O-M-O!" After shouting her name to everyone in the theater, Tomo continued eating popcorn and bouncing in her seat. "What were we talking about?"

"It is not important. Thank you, Tomo-san." Kaorin whispered. At that moment, the lights dimmed, the previews started, and further conversation was impossible.

"I forgot to say, but I thank you, Miss Tanizaki." Mr. Kimura spoke at the blackjack table several blocks away at a casino.

"What are you talking about? Hit me!" The English teacher grinned as she saw a seventeen on her end of the table.

"I am grateful for the repairs on my paper." He clarified.

"You mean that? There was nothing good on television, so I was bored. Hit me!"

"Twenty"

"I noticed that you have an great vocabulary, but you make a lot of small errors. Hit-"

"No! Stay!" Kimura pre-empted Yukari, winning her five hundred dollars. He commented, "I have studied English since grade school but almost never speak it"

"Don't you have any English-speaking friends?"

"My social chances are limited. I study English to read Shakespeare and Milton, and they do not use current English." The male teacher sipped more of his Long Island tea.

"Why does a Japanese literary teacher have so much interest in English writings?"

"I cannot believe you ask this! Desire you, a language teacher, not to know the deepness of art and knowledge?"

"You learn for fun? Are you some kind of nerd?" Yukari rolled the dice on a green felt table. Neither teacher seemed to understand the game they were playing, but one of them just lost one hundred dollars.

"Teachers are the bringers of knowledge. They are responsible to build their minds!"

"Loosen up, nerd. It's pretentious to keep learning things you don't get paid for. I barely remember last year's lesson plan." Yukari flung the dice again, and this time a small pile of red chips were given to her.

Kimura shed a tear. "This is terrible. You have your youth and lucky job, but yet you throw your mind away."

"Come on, you crybaby! I'm not the one who's too drunk to speak properly"

"You have very more experience in drinking and English speaking!" Kimura protested in a slur, but Yukari cut him off.

"You know the adage: Shame on the road is forgotten!"

"Remember the internet."

Yukari gambled for a while, until the pile of colored disks evaporated with one flick of her wrist.

"We lost all our money, Da-mu-netu!" Kimura exclaimed.

"What the hell was that?" Yukari laughed.

"Dam na!" He retried.

"Listen to me: damn it!"

"Damn it!" Kimura finally uttered. At this point they burst into laughter.

"You finally relaxed. This place really sucks when you don't have money." Yukari slappedhim on the back. She stood, but stumbled after five steps. "I seem to need assistance."

"Should I carry you again?"

"Yep!"

"I am making sarcasm. I am married."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"I _like_ my wife."

"Nyamo carries me all the time, and sometimes my mother still does"

The literature teacher tilted his head in thought. "I will help you, but under a condition."

"What do you mean?"

Kimura spoke slowly, "I will help you, if you take me to a museum tomorrow."

"Whatever would you want to attend a museum for?"

"There are dinosaurs there that can crush cars in their jaws!"

"Really?"

"Their bones are, anyway, and a laser exhibit is there."

"Okay, we'll go, if you insist. Now help me up."

He stretched his limbs and lifted the light woman. She held on to him with a faint smile. Outside, he grimaced at the smell of alcohol on her breath and said, "I bet I can go without alcohol longer than you can."

"You're on, idiot." Yukari muttered. "What do we do now?"

Kimura sighed, "Let's go to bed now, Tanizaki-san."

Yukari slapped him, "Perverted punk!"

The man's jaw clenched for a moment, but he did not drop the woman, "Not for sex. Without sleep, we will miss the presentation of Chiyo-chan."

"All right... if you want to see it that badly." Yukari nodded. They continued for a few blocks. "This feels good. Tomorrow I'll carry you, Hiro-kun." She hugged the middle aged man.

"Are you somehow becoming drunker?" Thewit was lost to Yukari's sleepy mind. On the other hand, Kimura felt his own clarity increasing. He perceived a couple of familiar people at the other end of the block, but his heart nearly stopped when he saw a pair of unfamiliar people beside them.

"Give us your money, and no one gets hurt." One of a pair of thugs spoke slowly to Kaorin and Tomo while his partner silently held them at gunpoint. Kaorin reached for her purse, but a voice sent shivers down her spine.

"No one will harm schoolgirls while I'm around!" Mr. Kimura cried, grappling a man from behind.

"Scumbags!" Yukari added as she kicked the gunman between the legs, causing him to drop the weapon.

The two teachers pounded on the criminals, who were soon unconscious. The four breathed hard as they examined the defeated criminals.

"What do we do?" Yukari shrieked.

"Let's take his gun." Tomo snatched the weapons off the ground.

"It is too dangerous for young ones!" Kimura took the weapon with his free hand and discarded the weapons in a dumpster. He then looked at Kaorin, who was still visibly shaken. Mr. Kimura extended a hand toward her. "Are you hurt?"

"Aah! Take it away!" Kaorin screamed. The teacher looked at his own hand. He had disarmed a man wielding a combat knife, and a cut stretched across the middle of his palm.

"We must return to the hotel." Kimura said. He wrapped his hand in a handkerchief, and the four hurried to the lobby. Tomo and Kaorin went elsewhere as the English teacher asked for a first aid kit and attended to the other teacher's right hand.

"You don't want to go to a hospital?" Yukari cleaned the wound off with antiseptic as the bleeding slowed.

"America is a very violent place. The hospital is probably booked solid with people who are more injured than I. Besides, someone lost all our money at the casino."

"Don't worry. I rolled the guys we flattened back there. We have plenty."

Kimura frowned and whispered, "Stealing from a criminal is still wrong."

"Would you like to return their money to them? Even if it is a crime, we have diplomatic immunity!" Yukari grinned.

"My hand is still exposed."

Yukari spoke while bandaging his hand, "You know, tonight taught me something."

"Yes?"

"There are guys out there even creepier than you."

"I will accept that as a complement." As the adults retired for the night, some of the teenagers were still active.

Kaorin stepped into the hotel room, where Sakaki sat on the bed in nightwear, "Miss Sakaki! I thought I'd never see you again."

The girl looked up and swiftly concealed her toy cat., 'Are you alright?" Kaorin stopped trembling as she recounted the events. "That's unfortunate. Is anyone hurt?"

"Mr. Kimura cut his hand open, but it's bandaged up now."

"Fortunately you're all safe." Sakaki patted Kaorin on the head.

"Miss Sakaki!" Kaorin blushed.

"Well, good night." Sakaki yawned and turned off the light.

"Good night." Kaorin replied.

In the weight room downstairs, Yomi sat in front of the mirror, engaging in a vigorous set of exercises. Kagura nearly stepped on her as she walked in. "Hey, Yomi, What's up?"

"I'm doing aerobics," she responded.

"You look pretty advanced." Kagura examined her technique.

"Not as advanced as I wish," she grumbled, folding her arms around her stomach.

"Maybe you aren't doing the correct exercises for your body type."

"What do you mean?'

"I'm going to lift some weights, would you like to spot me?" Yomi agreed. Kagura slid under the bar and completed several reps with ease. During the last one, Yomi stared at Kagura's sweat- streaked face and heaving chest. "Spot!" She said. Yomi quickly assisted her classmate. 'It's your turn."

"Wow! That looks intense."

"It is, but that's the trial of excellence. On the subject of trials, you probably know all about that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Even I don't study while exercising!" Kagura pointed to a calculus book propped open in front of Yomi's mat. "That's a really bad habit."

"You can't even score above a fifty in English class. How can you teach me about studying?"

"I don't know much about studying, but I know you have to focus only on your work, or you won't do it best. Bench pressing is a great way to build focus."

"Build focus?" Yomi pondered as she stared at the ceiling and took the bar. She panted heavily after the fourth repetition, unable to complete it without a spotter. Yomi stood and frowned.

"Don't worry. It's a gradual process. That's more than I could bench press when I started weightlifting!" Yomi smiled until a familiar presence charged into the room.

"Yo-mi! Is this how much you can lift? I can do way more than that!"

Tomo slapped two twenty five pound discs on the bar and took the bar off the mounting before anyone could stop her. "One!" She shouted. "Two" she proclaimed. The third repetition never came, and Yomi and Kagura had to exert themselves to keep Tomo from being crushed. Tomo jumped up and flexed her biceps. "I just bench pressed 150 kilograms!"

Yomi adjusted her glasses and read the weights. "Actually you lifted 150 pounds. That is about 68 kilograms."

"Whaaaaa!" Tomo exclaimed.

"That's still good for a beginner." Kagura said.

"I don't need your pity!" Tomo pointed at Kagura and ran elsewhere.

After that incident, Yomi and Kagura worked out until thoroughly exhausted.


End file.
